Catholic teenagers in Chicago and Rochester, N.Y., say they are tired of the violence around them and are taking positive steps to try to end it.

Recent stories from the Catholic New World and the Catholic Courier illustrate these efforts. In Chicago, teens organized meetings and a seminar to discuss the impact of violence and ways they could promote peace. In Rochester, teens took part in an evening prayer for peace.

Rochester teens organized the prayer service in response to the recent shooting death of a local teenager.

At the service, a Catholic youth group leader said: “All of you who are here tonight have come to say no more to the violence, the knifings, the killings on our streets. We come here to align ourselves with all people of faith all over the world.”